The Case Study of Sherlock Holmes (2009) - Scholarly Commons ...

Holmes (1984-1994), I sought out and viewed Basil Rathbone‟s silver screen series, The
complete collection: Sherlock Holmes (1939-1946), witnessing why he continues to
inspire such loyalty in Holmes viewers to this day. From these products, I soon became
fast acquainted with the canon. However, having seen Granada‟s extensive production,
doubled with my own constant reading of the original products, I sought a pastiche.
Laurie King‟s The Beekeeper’s Apprentice (1994) came highly recommended by
Youtube users, and due to its availability at my local library, I acquired the book. I
continued reading The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905/2005d), the third set of short
stories in the canon, and then decided to return to the beginning and read the first
Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet (1887/2006a). While consuming original and official
secondary product information, I became frustrated with my own images of Holmes and
Watson going unfulfilled. Having read and seen so many adaptations one harbours more
questions then answers; therefore, I turned towards fan fiction, a literary outlet for the
enamoured and occasionally the well-educated fan. While finding myself thoroughly
impressed with the variety of fan fiction, I subsequently read another official pastiche,
The Veiled Detective (2009); appalled, I returned to the official canon and read the last
novel, The Valley of Fear (1927/2006b), followed in order by His Last Bow
(1917/2005h) and The Case-book of Sherlock Holmes (1927/2005k). Having finished
the canon, I acquainted myself with two popular Sherlockian texts, the commercial
success, The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1974), and the foundation of Sherlockian
scholarship, Vincent Starrett‟s The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (2008). Private Life
(2008) was written as a biography of Sherlock Holmes, treating him and his life‟s work
as real. I promptly learned this was The Great Game, a Sherlockian pastime in which
educated fans take a good-humoured academic look into Holmes‟ personality and
achievements. However, due to my ethnographic position and methodological
boundaries I did not pursue this avenue because it involves community interaction.
Therefore, I found this the appropriate time in my journey to stop and reflect.
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